Custom made mobile bases

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9fingers

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I've been working on this project for a few weekends now. I bought an axminster mobile base kit a few months back for my table saw and it is OK but frustrating in that it only has two castoring wheels which gives it only limited manoeverability.

I wanted a base with greater load capacity and four wheel castoring for my bandsaw and Jet jointer.
Img_0302.jpg


Img_0292.jpg

Wheels shown in the Up or Fixed position
Img_0293.jpg

Wheels down or Mobile position
Img_0294.jpg

The lifting castor mount design is a shameless copy of the Axminster one but modified so that it can be made from stock materials.
I used 50mm steel angle and 40, 50 and 60 mm square box section tube
All readily available from steel stock holders in yellow pages.
Img_0301.jpg

The castors are also standard items
Img_0298.jpg

The parts were all cut on the bandsaw which I modified by making new pulleys to drop the speed down from wood cutting speeds to much slower metal cutting speeds. I bought a metal blade from Dragon Saws.
The rounded corners and smooth edges were done on a nutool 1" linisher.
Img_0295.jpg

Img_0296.jpg

Img_0297.jpg

Note the foot lever has a cam profile with the curved edge having a changing radius from the pivot hole.

The parts are assembled as shown using M8 x 70mm socket cap bolts.
Img_0299.jpg

Img_0300.jpg

The item shown is one of a pair of loose units going to be bolted onto the Axminster base to give it 4 castoring wheels.
The others were welded directly onto the angle iron frame.
The final task was to fit 'elephants foot' adjustable feet which can be seen in the first few pictures. When in use, the machines rest on these feet for stability.


If anyone want more details then I have Visio drawings showing the critical dimensions and an excel spreadsheet wth cam data - PM me with a direct email address for the files if you want more info.

Bob


UPDATE: 25-02-11

The original files for this project have been lost in computer moves. However there has been some recent interest so I have done some drawings based on the parts I made. These can be found here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob.minchi ... ring_feet/

HTH

Bob
 
8) 8) 8) Superb job, I was a bit shocked to read you used your bandsaw for the metal cutting though. What size was the blade (bigger than 1/2 inch?), what effect did the metal swarf have on your guide bearings and did the Bandsaw clean up nicly afterwards?

I'm not afraid to chop up and drill the odd bit of metal but so-far have kept it away from my bandsaw for fear of ruining it for using on wood.

PM for the files on its way :D
 
Great idea, it must be a lot more stable than just locking castors - which I rely on.

Bob
 
9fingers":areuekux said:
I've been working on this project for a few weekends now. I bought an axminster mobile base kit a few months back for my table saw and it is OK but frustrating in that it only has two castoring wheels which gives it only limited manoeverability.

I wanted a base with greater load capacity and four wheel castoring for my bandsaw and Jet jointer.
Img_0302.jpg~original


Img_0292.jpg~original

Wheels shown in the Up or Fixed position
Img_0293.jpg~original

Wheels down or Mobile position
Img_0294.jpg~original

The lifting castor mount design is a shameless copy of the Axminster one but modified so that it can be made from stock materials.
I used 50mm steel angle and 40, 50 and 60 mm square box section tube
All readily available from steel stock holders in yellow pages.
Img_0301.jpg~original

The castors are also standard items
Img_0298.jpg~original

The parts were all cut on the bandsaw which I modified by making new pulleys to drop the speed down from wood cutting speeds to much slower metal cutting speeds. I bought a metal blade from Dragon Saws.
The rounded corners and smooth edges were done on a nutool 1" linisher.
Img_0295.jpg~original

Img_0296.jpg~original

Img_0297.jpg~original

Note the foot lever has a cam profile with the curved edge having a changing radius from the pivot hole.

The parts are assembled as shown using M8 x 70mm socket cap bolts.
Img_0299.jpg~original

Img_0300.jpg~original

The item shown is one of a pair of loose units going to be bolted onto the Axminster base to give it 4 castoring wheels.
The others were welded directly onto the angle iron frame.
The final task was to fit 'elephants foot' adjustable feet which can be seen in the first few pictures. When in use, the machines rest on these feet for stability.


If anyone want more details then I have Visio drawings showing the critical dimensions and an excel spreadsheet wth cam data - PM me with a direct email address for the files if you want more info.

Bob


UPDATE: 25-02-11

The original files for this project have been lost in computer moves. However there has been some recent interest so I have done some drawings based on the parts I made. These can be found here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob.minchi ... ring_feet/

HTH

Bob
 
I have now rescued the drawings made of the three components and the general assembly diagram.
These should be viewed in combination with the photos above.
 

Attachments

  • Castor Arm-page-001.jpg
    Castor Arm-page-001.jpg
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  • Foot frame-page-001.jpg
    Foot frame-page-001.jpg
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  • Foot Pedal-page-001.jpg
    Foot Pedal-page-001.jpg
    102.3 KB · Views: 235
  • General assembly-page-001.jpg
    General assembly-page-001.jpg
    116.5 KB · Views: 234
I'm going to make a frame to make my table saw mobile & I think I'll use your design for jacking castors. The saw will be much more stable in use when sitting on 4 feet rather than 4 locked castors!

Just one question - how much does the base lift up when you lock the castors down?
 
Depends on how big your casters are
I chose 75mm and think thats the right size.
It needs only to lift an inch or two.
If you drop the machine to the floor, you might find it a bit difficult to lever it
up again, thats why the feet never go lower than a given distance.
I could lower mine a bit on the bandsaw though, I haven't got around to doing so.

I chose to use a different design for the tableaw as you could trip on those levers.

As I said before, it would be a good idea to add more surface area to the underside of the lever,
as it can go beyond 90 degrees when engaged and get stuck.
If you dont have that heavy gauge 40mm stock for the foot lever,
you should consider welding a bit onto the the edge of the lever also,
because both these issues together will lead you to damage the toe on your boot.
 

Attachments

  • brackets and blade.JPG
    brackets and blade.JPG
    116 KB · Views: 125

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